Comforter-filling machine.



` v J. R. SHELDON. COMFORTER FILLING MACHINE.

- APPLIOATION FILED 1113.9, 1911.

2 SHEETS--SHEBT 2.

WITVI'EEE.: i 32" I Patented May 28,1912..

' .`provision is made to above-referred to and Vdelayfwhich is due to i 30. blast .from the Hue and Y 'ence tothe drawings in which a machine emy l'UlSTITE-D .PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN Rfsnnnndrr, or CAMBRIDGE, MAssAcHUsETTs.

' CQMFORTEEFILLING MAC'HINES l TolaZZ whom# may concern n ohines,-

l t1on. y

i Be it known that I, JoH R.- SHE'LDoN, of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, a citizen of the United States,hav'e linvented a new 'and useful Improvement in Comforter-I4`illi'1gv Ma- My improvement relates especially to machines for filling comforters, pillowsand the likewith down or feathers. In such man chinesv as heretofore made an air blast from ablower or froma compressed air tank hasbeen "used to ,blow the feathers from a receptacle'through a -suitable nozzle into the comforter or a sectionof it which is 'temporarily attached to. the nozzle. In such I machines' the air blast 'sometimes drives the 26 down into., the nozzle too rapidly so that itq u' r the -nozzle vis cleared out. Moreover when clogs and the blast has to b eshut down until one'iof the sections of the comforter is filled theblastmust be shut'olf until the next sec- 4tiolis adjusted on'the-nozzle. In n a v 'machine embodying my invention relieve theclogging also to lprevent the shutting down the air starting it up again.

invention will be understood by referbodying myinvention in its simplest form is shown. l 1 y 'Figure 1 is a verticalsection,V and Fig. 2 is a front elevation of. such a machine Ais. a covered receptacle serving as 'a 'l reservoir to receive the down with which a comforter is to be filled. This receptacle or tankisilled through the pipe A1 from any convenient source of supply and venient means, ceptacle A is provided with an apron a closing'the corners ofthe bottom ofthe recep-v v taclefso'that downcannotl collect therein.

. opening preferably The j receptacle is also provided with lan in the side and closed by a (cover A2 bolted --or otherwise attached thereto.

shaft is rotated and kept within reach of the blast'by which' they are withdrawn from the receptacle.

B is a shaft mountedjin two opposite walls of the receptacle and having on 1t a number of vblades B1 by means of-whieh when the the feathers are agitated Power is applied tol theshaft through the pulley B2 and it may be rotated at any de- `by means of which the back into the by any con-- The lower part of the'replace. When the unfilled y v *specifici-.aibn vof Letters Patent. Patented May 23,'1912 ApplicationA sied Febraay e, 1911..v i

.serial No. 607,723.

sired speed. By this means t-he feathers kept from packing in the receptacle.

C, is a fan or blower of a type vwell known y feathers are conveyed from lthe' receptacle to the comforter or other article to be filled. For this ur- Iare pose there isprovided anoutlet D from the receptacle A which outlet leads into the fan C. The outlet from the fan comprises the pipe E which terminates in the nozzle E1 to which the article -to be 'filled is attached. The part D has preferably anl enlarged or conical mouth D1 ers are drawn in and the part Dis preferably located at the top that the feathers agitated by the blades will of the receptacle so Y through which the feathbe drawn up into the fan rather than drawn in bulk into the feed pipe. It may, however, be located in the side if preferred.. As is intimated above,'the fan tends to create a vacuum in the receptacle A andthe feathers passing through the -fan are driven 'through the pipe. E and nozzle E1 into the article to be filled.

At the lower end of Vthe pipe E near the nozzle is a return 'pipe F connecting the at the junction ofthe pipes -E and F is a gate Af having a handle f1 extending out from the pipe by means of which the position of the gate may be changed. Asshown in full lines inFig. 1, the gate is in position to close the outlet through the nozzle YE1 and when in this position the feathers.

driven by the fan through the pipe E will pass over the gate and up the pipe F and receptacle. This is the position of the gate While an article which has been filled `is being removed from the nozzle and an unfilled article is being put in its article is attached to the nozzle the gate fis moved into the position shown lin dotted lines in Fig. 1 soA as 'to have a clear passage for the feathers to the nozzle. Thus the filling operation may be interrupted from time to time as occasion may require without shutting down the fan, and much time savedin the course offjfa day as the blast is always available when wanted, and 'no time 'is wasted in speeding up and slowing down thefan as lat4 present isthe custom. In fact this feature aloneadds about one third to the present capacity of a machine of this class.

I Vhile there is but little chance that a machine` operated under .these conditiensaof pipeE with the receptacle A and pivoted' f have intimated above,

of said receptacle may such a possibility, I prefer to provide a sec-,

ond fan or blower G which has an outlet pipe g terminating at g1 just inside' of the horizontal part of the pipe G vand provided with a valve f/fby which the blast therefrom may be controlled. When any tendency to clog is apparent the valve g2 is opened and a jet of air is directed into the nozzle. from the end of the pipe g which soon clears out 'the nozzle E.

Other embodiments 'of my invention will readily occur to one skilled in the art.

The agitation of the feathers is desirable butI not always essential, the main feature of my invention residing in the drawing of the down or feathers from the receptacle A rather than forcing them from the receptacle, another feature beingfthe val/ve and return' pipe'by means of which a const-ant stream of feathers is passing through the fan or blower to be drawn upon to fill the comforter or other article when such filling is to take place. l p

I prefer to use a fan or blowerof the inelosed type, but I do not mean to limit myself to such a` type, nor is it necessary that the connection between said blower and vre ceptacle be in the top wall of the receptaclc as shown. sures, howevei, the drawing of the feathers out of the receptacle by rarefied air rather than the packing of them into the outlet of a forcedA blast. So far as I know the drawing of the feathers from the receptacle by rarefied air is new with me. The contents be agitated by other means than that shown, but a shaft as shown is perhaps as simple and at the same time, as effective a device for the purpose as can be desired.

By the word receptacle I mean, as I from which a constant supply of feathers may be drawn according to the requirements of the work. In certain aspects of my invention, however, such reservoir or tank is not necessary, though convenient#and for the fan may be substituted any equivalent by receptacle,

Such an arrangement as-V a. reservoir or tank Which suction may be secured to withdraw feathers from a source of supply and feed them to the nozzle or end of the pipe leading to the article .to be filled.

VVhatfI claim as my invention is ,1. In a comforter-filling.machine, a receptacle adapted to contain a supply of material, an agitator located in said receptacle and comprising a series of rotating blades,-

an outlet in the upper part of said receptacle, a nozzle connected with said outlet, and a fan locatedhetween said outlet and said nozzle and serving to withdraw the agitated' contents from said receptacle by suction and to force them outward through said nozzle.

2. In a machine for filling comforters, a receptacle` a fan connected to said receptacle to withdraw the contents therefrom, a nozzle Connected to said fan to receive said contents `from said fan and deliver them, a return pipe connecting saidv nozzle with said receptacle, and a gate located and adapted to close said nozzle or said return pipe as set forth.

3. In a machinefor filling comforters, a a nozzle, means for driving the contents of said receptacle through` said nozzle, and lauxiliary means comprising a fan and a pipe therefrom leadingto said nozzle whereby an auxiliary blast may be availed of to clear said nozzle.

4, A filling apparatus comprising a noz-` zle, means for through said nozzle, and means, leading to said nozzle, whereby an auxiliary blast may be availed of to clear said nozzle.

5. A filling apparatus comprising a nozzle to deliver the filling to the comforter, a source of Asupply of filling material, means connected to said nozzle and adapted rto withdraw the filling from said source of supply and deliver it to said nozzle, a return pipe connecting said nozzle with said source of supply, and a gate located and adapted to close said nozzle or said return pipe, as

M. E. FLAI-mmv.

forcing the filling material. 

